The first Sinhalese arrived in Sri Lanka late in the 6th century B.C. probably from northern India. Buddhism was introduced in about the mid-third century B.C., and a great civilization developed at the cities of Anuradhapura (kingdom from circa 200 B.C. to circa A.D. 1000) and Polonnaruwa (from about 1070 to 1200). In the 14th century, a south Indian dynasty established a Tamil kingdom in northern Sri Lanka. The coastal areas of the island were controlled by the Portuguese in the 16th century and by the Dutch in the 17th century. The island was ceded to the British in 1796, became a crown colony in 1802, and was united under British rule by 1815. As Ceylon, it became independent in 1948; its name was changed to Sri Lanka in 1972. Tensions between the Sinhalese majority and Tamil separatists erupted into war in 1983. Tens of thousands have died in the ethnic conflict that continues to fester. After two decades of fighting, the government and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) formalized a cease-fire in February 2002 with Norway brokering peace negotiations. Violence between the LTTE and government forces intensified in 2006 and the government regained control of the Eastern Province in 2007. In January 2008, the government officially withdrew from the ceasefire, and has begun engaging the LTTE in the northern portion of the country.

Economic Indices of South Asia

GDP Per Capita
While GDP provides a snapshot of the size of a nation’s market economy, it is skewed by the population. A better index is the per capita GDP. Here it is expressed in terms of Purchasing Power Parity. Expressed thus, it is an indication of the buying power of an individual within the nation. It gives no indication of the distribution of wealth within the nation, though. While the per Capita PPP in China is much higher than countries in South Asia, within South Asia, Sri Lanka is way ahead of all other nations followed by India and then Bangladesh and Pakistan.

In Sri Lanka, university education is strictly controlled by the government. Therefore all the degree-granting-universities, and most degree-granting-institutes in Sri Lanka are government owned or funded. However autonomous in theory, only a very few institutes are truly autonomous.

Most of the state universities depend on funds given by the University Grants Commission (UGC), as it is their primary and sometimes only source of funding. Therefore the UGC has a great influence over these universities and administer the undergraduate intake. There are 16 such universities. The UGC itself comes under the Ministry of Higher Education.